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November 19, 2018February 8, 2019 Vicki9 Comments

Eight weeks ago, having recently let my WW membership lapse, I was recruited by Kate to join her in a commitment to eat better and lose some weight. So I reacquainted myself with my Lose It app and we started planning & logging (the key to success no matter the program)! We coordinate dinners as much as we can and mostly cook & eat at home! It can be tiresome… sometimes I think we need something new in rotation, and not just a dish, a big new actual palatable, main-dishable ingredient thing… but we're managing. We're not doing any one thing, just buying, preparing & eating Real Good Food.

There's only one scale in the house and it happens to be in Kate's apartment, so once every week or so, on the weekend or my day off, before breakfast & getting dressed, I wrap a scarf 'round my neck and step into some boots (not even bothering to zip/tie) and dash outside & up the stairs in my bathrobe for a weigh-in.

I've lost 10.6 pounds since then. Not setting the world on fire, but that's OK! I've done some traveling, some socializing, some celebrating, and still… my clothes fit better (ok, yes, I'm talking about jeans) and I feel better, win-win.

I don't have any other photos to show today, so you get yarn. These are in the shop now. There's more on the drying rack, and an order arriving at the end of the week!

Eat Right: Whole/Real/Paleo · Food and Drink · Uncategorized

Cooking in parchment

April 30, 2015February 8, 2019 Vicki7 Comments

Today is Day 4 of a new Whole30. I have more to say about that, but not today.

I'm not really very organized about it, at the moment, but I have a cohort who is also motivated and that's helping to keep with the program.

The internet is also very helpful. Like yesterday, away from home, when it was decided that salmon would be good for supper… with dill. So I googled "Whole30 salmon dill" and came up with Dill & Lemon Baked Salmon in Parchment from paleogrubs.com.

Chop & slice some zucchini, season, drizzle with olive oil, add lemon and salmon, season a little more, seal it up in parchment paper, and bake.

COULD.NOT.BE.EASIER. And clean up is a breeze.

Every time I cook in parchment, I wonder why I don't do it more often.

Seeing the similar Paleo Shrimp Baked in Parchment Paper recipe guarantees that I'll do it again soon!

Eat Right: Whole/Real/Paleo · Ten on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday: I Am

February 4, 2014February 8, 2019 Vicki8 Comments

Ten on Tuesday: I Am…

1. I am conflicted on which way to go with this post, so it's probably going to be all over the place!

2. In case you haven't heard, I am a grandmother! It's hard to believe he's 3 weeks old already!

3. I am looking forward to my first babysitting gig.

4. Not altogether happy with my current knitting project, I am considering casting on for Ysolda's Follow Your Arrow Mystery KAL.

5. I don't know if it's a thing anymore, but I am considering knitting it, start-to-finish, during the games that start later this week.

6. If that doesn't get my knitting mojo going, I am not sure what will.

7. I am still quite interested in handsewing & embellishing, and exploring more of the techniques of Alabama Chanin.

8. In fact, I am anxiously awaiting delivery of some new materials for a couple of small projects I have in mind that will also make use of some old materials — re-use and recycle, if you will. This could definitely mess up the knitting plans.

9. I am at the beginning of another Whole30. There was a birthday celebration over the weekend and a big football game, which means cake & pizza around here, but I didn't over-indulge and was already prepping.

10. That means that I am cooking! Over the weekend I made a pot of Chocolate Chili (rave reviews from everyone) (from Well Fed, one of my favorite cookbooks), an Italian Pork Roast (in the oven instead of slow-cooked) (to DIE for) and Silky Gingered Zucchini Soup (both from Well Fed 2) (yep, I'm a fan). I also roasted a spaghetti squash and a few whole sweet potatoes. And, finally, MAYO! I made homemade mayo only once before; I was in high school and had run across the recipe… and was so intrigued by the idea of a recipe for mayonnaise. Who knew you could make it yourself? I sure didn't. So, anyway, that's given us plenty of food to start the week. I had the last of the chili with a dollop of spaghetti squash, above, for lunch today. Yummm.

I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.

–Helen Keller

Eat Right: Whole/Real/Paleo · Ten on Tuesday

Ten on Tuesday: Breakfast of Champions!

January 21, 2014 Vicki7 Comments

Ten on Tuesday: 10 Favorite Breakfast Foods

1. Eggs. I have an egg for breakfast almost everyday.

2. Corned Beef Hash (with an egg). I haven't had this in ages, and hardly ever actually had it at breakfast… and I think this is what I want for supper TONIGHT. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since it popped into my heard earlier today.

3. Bacon. Self-explanatory. Goes with everything.

4. Leftovers. Fish, some steak, half a bratwurst, a meatball, veggies of all sorts… yummy for breakfast (along with an egg).

5. Cereal with fruit & nuts. Cheerios with bananas & pecans. Rice Chex with raisins & walnuts. The barest minimum of milk. Liberal sprinkles of cinnamon.

6. Oatmeal. Good chewy stuff, with raisin and pecans, lots of cinnamon.

7. Greek yogurt. Plain, with honey, pineapple, and peach were my faves.

8. Toast. Regular or french. Good bread, good eggs, good syrup. :)

9. Pancakes with maple syrup & sausage links.

10. Waffles (ditto).

I mostly only eat #1, 3 & 4 for breakfast, lunch or dinner these days; the occasional #5 for a supper on my own or a late-night bite.

I get to smell toast regularly and, like fresh baked bread, it still smells good.

One of my favorite things about making pancakes & waffles were the stray little drips and bits that would get super done & crispy — little pancake or waffle chips.

I like things crispy.

Speaking of breakfast (food), it's been a while and I could use a system reset, so I'm thinking about and gearing up for a Whole30 in February, I think. I ran across Melissa Joulwan's "food plan" and that's a good jumping off point. As has been previously documented here, I love her recipes!

Eat Right: Whole/Real/Paleo · Food and Drink

The beet goes on

October 24, 2013February 8, 2019 Vicki8 Comments

First of all: ROASTING!

Lord knows, I'd eat almost anything drizzled in oil, beautifully seasoned with plain salt and pepper, and ROASTED. Whatever it is, roasting makes it a million times better.

I used my new* favorite cookbook, Well Fed 2: More Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat by Melissa Joulwan, and made Belly Dance Beet Salad. The original/prototype recipe can be found here, with lots of good discussion in the comments.

Ahem. Do as I say, not as I do: put the pistachios on the upper rack for toasting in the oven (not the lower, as shown above). Those burned, of course, and I had to quickly shell more nuts to toast on the stove (which is probably what I should have done all along).

I think I had slightly more than 2 lbs. of beets. Most of them were VERY small, so I chopped top and bottom and roasted them whole; others were halved or quartered and there were a couple that were pretty large, chopped to make more or less uniform. I loved that I didn't need to peel!

After roasting, the beets were cooled a bit and chopped again to about 1/2-inch size pieces. Actually, I was a bit behind, so I chopped them so that they would cool down quicker!

Dressed with a combo of orange juice, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and spices, and tossed with the toasted nuts and sliced green onions, it was DELICIOUS! I don't have an aversion to beets, as do some, including my husband, but even he gobbled this up like crazy — loved it and said they were the best beets he's ever had!

Using another recipe in WF2, I dressed up some grass-fed ground beef and made Italian burgers. They, too, were delicious; moist and full of flavor. This book couldn't have arrived at a better time!

*One of my old favorite cookbooks is the original Well Fed: Paleo Recipes for People Who Love to Eat, which I have in electronic form… and would really like in physical form! That book is home to the recipe for The Best Chicken You Will Ever Eat. Ever., which is still one of our hands-down favorites! I haven't made every recipe in that book, but I love every recipe I've made — one of the best features in both books are the the options and "You know how you could do that?" ideas that Melissa includes for almost every recipe.